Card Games and Card Game Methods

ABSTRACT

A card game and method in which a five card poker hand is determined for each of the plurality of the players. The five card poker hands associated with the players contain all hold cards of the players. If the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands. At least one of the players having the highest five card poker hand is identified as a winner of the game.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application (Attorney's Ref. No. P217656) claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/841,520 filed Jul. 1, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to games of chance and, more particularly, to poker card games.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to games of chance. A game of chance employs an element of randomness, often in combination with knowledge or skill. The randomness is often introduced by shuffled cards, rolled dice, or machinery. The knowledge and skill arise from the player's knowledge of the rules, choices or selections made by the player, and the player's skill at “reading” the other players while not giving away the strength of the player's own hand.

Games of chance are typically played in many environments, for different reasons, and in many different physical or graphical forms. For example, games of chance are often played in private settings, tournament settings, and in casinos. Players often play games of chance for recreation or entertainment purposes through pure competition without wagering, or, with wagering, as part of a gambling activity. In addition, games of chance may be physically implemented or represented using physical objects such as playing cards or dice and/or as a mechanized and/or computerized system. Often, games of chance evolve into numerous variations implementing a set of basic rules.

One example of a popular, and typical, game of chance is the family of card games referred to as poker games. Poker games may be played privately with or without wagering or in a casino setting, usually with wagering. Poker rules may be implemented using playing cards, with dice using a modified set of rules (as in the game “Yahtzee”), and/or as a computer game that creates images depicting cards or dice. Also, poker games typically employ a basic set of rules but can be played in a number of different variations. These variations include, for example, the use of wild cards, the number of cards used, whether cards can be discarded and new cards drawn, whether aces are high or low, and/or the manner in which the cards are dealt (all face down or some face down and some face up). In general, the winner(s) of a poker game is determined by ranks and combinations of playing cards, with typically five cards in a hand counted when determining the winner.

The ultimate goal of games of chance is usually recreation, even when wagering is involved. Players can, however, become bored with a given game, with the result being that the player plays the game less. This is a particular problem with casinos and card rooms that derive revenue off of the game of chance. Whether played for pure competition or during gambling, the need thus exists for games of chance that are new and exciting and provide entertainment and recreation for the players.

The need thus exists for improved poker games that employ familiar rules but which introduce new game elements to maintain the interest of the players.

SUMMARY

The present invention may be embodied as a method of allowing a plurality of players to play a card game, comprising the following steps. The game is set up by providing a plurality of representations of cards. Each representation of a card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten. The representations of cards are substantially randomly arranged in a shuffled deck. The cards are randomly distributed to each of the plurality of players such that each of the plurality of players possesses a hand comprising a plurality of cards. Each of the plurality of players is allowed to discard cards from each of the plurality of players' hands, where cards not discarded from each of the plurality of players' hands are hold cards. At least one community card is dealt. A five card poker hand is determined for each of the plurality of the players who have not folded. The five card poker hands associated with each of the plurality of players contain all of the hold cards of the plurality of players, and, if the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands. At least one of the plurality of players having the highest five card poker hand is identified as a winner of the game.

The present invention may also be embodied as method of allowing a plurality of players to play a card game comprising the following steps. The game is set up by identifying one of the players as a dealer, determining the number and type of chips to be distributed to the players, providing each player with chips, and providing a plurality of representations of cards. Each representation of a card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten. The representations of cards are substantially randomly arranged in a shuffled deck. The player immediately to the left of the dealer puts out a first blind. The player immediately to the left of the player immediately to the left of the dealer puts out a second blind. The cards are distributed to each of the plurality of players such that each of the plurality of players possesses a hand comprising a plurality of cards. Each of the plurality of players in a pre-flop betting round is allowed to fold, call, or raise. Each of the plurality of players is allowed to discard cards from each of the plurality of players' hands, where cards not discarded from each of the plurality of players' hands are hold cards. Two first flop community cards are dealt in a first flop. Bets are solicited from the plurality of players in a first post-flop betting round. The first post-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money. Two second flop community cards are dealt in a second flop. Bets are solicited from the plurality of players in a second post-flop betting round. The second post-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money. A five card poker hand is determined for each of the plurality of the players who have not folded. The five card poker hands associated with each of the plurality of players contain all of the hold cards of the plurality of players. If the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands. At least one of the plurality of players having the highest five card poker hand is identified as a winner of the game.

The present invention may also be embodied as card game for a plurality of players comprising a plurality of representations of cards. Each representation of a card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten. The representations of cards are substantially randomly arranged in a shuffled deck. The cards are distributed to each of the plurality of players such that each of the plurality of players possesses a hand comprising a plurality of cards. Each of the plurality of players is allowed to discard cards from each of the plurality of players' hands, where cards not discarded from each of the plurality of players' hands are hold cards. A plurality of community cards are dealt. A five card poker hand is determined for each of the plurality of the players who have not folded. The five card poker hands associated with each of the plurality of players contain all of the hold cards of the plurality of players, and, if the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands. At least one player having the highest five card poker hand is identified as a winner of the game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic, top plan view of a first example playing environment in which the card game of the present invention may be played; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic, top plan view of a second example playing environment in which the card game of the present invention may be played.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The card game of the present invention is a community card poker game played with a standard fifty-two card deck. As is conventional, the each card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten. The cards can be physical cards or can be representations of cards as will be described in further detail below.

The card game of the present invention may be played in a cash game or in a tournament. The end goal may be slightly different depending on if the game is played in a cash game or in a tournament, but the rules and game play remain mostly the same in either case. The card game of the present invention is typically played on a single table with two to 9 players. The goal is to win as many chips as possible, one pot at a time.

A pot is won by the player having the best hand, or by having all other players fold before the showdown. As will be described in further detail below, the structure of the card game of one example of the present invention can be broken up into three main divisions: (1) The Setup; (2) Betting Rounds and Game Play; and (3) Showdown.

The game commences by having the dealer deal five cards to each player. In one example, the player immediately left of the dealer is referred to as the “Small Blind”, and the player immediately to the left of the Small Blind is referred to as the “Big Blind”. After the cards are dealt, the player to the left of the Big Blind must call, raise or fold. Once all action is complete, the players in the hand must decide on what cards are to be discarded and what cards are to be held, and the held cards must ultimately be used to create the player's final five card hand. Discarded cards are to be placed face down in front of each player to allow the other players to see how many cards were discarded. Players may discard up to four of the originally dealt five cards.

The dealer will then burn a card and expose two community cards (referred to as “First Street”) at a community cards location at the center of the table. The player closest to the dealer's left will have to check, bet or fold. Once all action is completed, the dealer will then burn a card and expose two community cards (referred to as “Final Freeway”) at the community cards location. The player closest to the dealer's left will have to check, bet or fold.

Once all action is completed and if there is more than one player remaining in the round, the dealer will ask for the Showdown. Poker hands must be exactly five cards, and only those five cards are used to evaluate the winning hand. For example:

If the board is 2

Q

K

A♦ Player 1 holds T

J♦ Player 2 holds T

J♡ Q♦ Player 3 holds T♦ J

2♡,

Both players 1 and 2 hold the very same hand (a straight from ten to ace). This means the pot is split between the two players. Player 3 loses with a pair of 2's. During the Showdown the held cards must be played.

With the foregoing general understanding of the principles of the game of the present invention in mind, the details of several examples of the game of the present invention will now be described in further detail.

I. First Example Card Game A. The Setup

As generally shown in FIG. 1, depicted at 20 therein is a schematic diagram depicting one example of an instance of the card game of the present invention. In the example card game 20, the players are arranged around a table 22, and a conventional deck 24 containing fifty-two standard playing cards is provided. A pot area 26 generally indicates a location at which chips may be placed when the players place bets, blinds, or the ante.

FIG. 1 further illustrates that the table 22 is divided into one section per player: in this case, there are five players, and five sections I-V of the table 22 are identified by reference characters 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d, and 30 e, respectively. The five players are identified as Player 1, Player 2, Player 3, Player 4, and Player 5, respectively, and are schematically represented by the player information summary tables identified by reference characters 40 a, 40 b, 40 c, 40 d, and 40 e, respectively. More or fewer table player Sections may be provided, and not all table Sections need be occupied by a player in the second example card game 120.

For simplicity and clarity, the individual cards of the deck 24 referred to in the written specification are not depicted in FIG. 1 and thus do not have associated reference characters. Instead, the conventional symbols for playing cards will be used in this discussion where appropriate. As examples, 2

represents the “Two of Spades”, Q

represents the “Queen of Clubs”, A♦ represents the “Ace of Diamonds”, and T♡ represents the “Ten of Hearts”. When these conventional symbols are used in the written, it should be understood that, in the example game 20, a physical manifestation of the cards is also present on the table 22 and/or in the hands of the players.

Each player is given chips during the Setup. To determine the number and type of chips to be given to each player, it is helpful to understand the rules and strategy of the game. The denomination(s) of the chips used and quantities of chips given to each player during set up varies depends on a number of factors. For the present discussion, it will be assumed that all players have chips in front of them, and the selection of denominations and quantities will be discussed later after the basic rules and strategies of the game are understood. Chips are graphically represented by stacks 50 a, 50 b, 50 c, 50 d, and 50 e of individual chips 60 in FIG. 1.

The example card game 20 may be played with a permanent house dealer or with what is known as a rotating dealer (e.g., a player will act as the dealer for one hand, handing the role of dealer to the player on their left when the hand is completed, etc.). In the example card game 20 employing either a permanent house dealer or a rotating dealer, the dealer is a player. In the example depicted in FIG. 1, the dealer is a rotating dealer as will be described in further detail below.

A rotating dealer is employed in the example depicted in FIG. 1, and the player who will start as the dealer is chosen after the players are given the chips 60. The dealer may be chosen in any one of a number of ways, typically by chance. For example, every player may be dealt one card, and player dealt the highest card is the dealer. As another example, the cards may be spread face down on the table 22, and every player chooses a card. Again, the player who chooses the highest card is the dealer. For the purpose of selecting the dealer, aces are high. If a professional dealer is used, or if someone volunteers to always physically deal the cards, the dealer status will still rotate around the table 22. Even if there is a designated dealer physically dealing the cards, for all intents and purposes, the person with dealer status is viewed as the dealer for the hand. Once the hand completes, the dealer status for the next hand will pass to the left of the player having previous dealer status. With reference to FIG. 1, it can be seen that, in the depicted example, Player 1 has been is identified as the dealer and may be given a dealer button 70 to indicate dealer status.

Once the dealer has been selected or identified, the blinds (antes) are determined or set. There are two blinds in the example card game 20: a small blind and a big blind. The player directly to the left of the dealer puts out the small blind. The big blind is placed by the player to the left of the small blind. The big blind may be exactly, or, for convenience, double that of the small blind. The value of the big blind is in any event typically greater than the value of the small blind. The size of the blinds typically dictates the stakes of the game. A card game employing a permanent, playing house dealer would be similar to that of the example depicted in FIG. 1 and described herein, except that the position of the big blind and the little blind rotate after each hand and the position of the dealer does not rotate after each hand.

After the blinds are set, the players can determine what kind of chips will be required to play. Desirably, the players are given enough chips in each denomination to allow the game to run smoothly. Typically, a player will need only 10% of their total chips in the smallest denomination, as they are only ever used to pay the small blind. For the most part, all betting will be done with chips larger than that of the small blind.

Once the blinds are out, the dealer deals the first hand.

B. Betting Rounds and Game Play

The person dealing the cards deals to the left of the player with the dealer button first, rotating around the table 22 in a clockwise manner, giving each player one card at a time until each player has five cards.

A hand in the example card game 20 consists of a minimum of one and a maximum of three betting rounds. A hand ends when all players but one have folded or when the third and final betting round completes with multiple players still in the hand, whichever comes first. At that point, players enter into the Showdown (to be explained in the next section).

When all players receive their cards, the example card game 20 is in the pre-flop betting round. Each player must look at their cards and decide what action they would like to take. In the example card game 20, only one player can act at a time. The pre-flop betting round starts with the player to the left of the big blind. This player has three options:

-   -   1. Fold: They pay nothing to the pot and throw away their hand,         waiting for the next deal to play again;     -   2. Call: They match the amount of the big blind; and     -   3. Raise: They raise the bet by doubling the amount of the big         blind. A player may raise more depending on the betting style         being played.

Once a player has chosen his or her action, the player to his or her left chooses their action. Each player is given the same options: fold, call the bet of the player to their right, or raise. If the previous player raised, the amount required to call is based on the amount of the previous raise.

A raise is always the amount of one bet in addition to the amount of the previous bet. For example: if the big blind is 25 ¢, and the first player to act would like to raise, he would put in a total of 50 ¢ the big blind+one additional bet). If the next player would like to re-raise, he would put in a total of 75 ¢ (the total of the previous bet (50 ¢)+one additional bet (25 ¢)).

A betting round ends when two conditions are met: (a) all players have had a chance to act; and (b) all players who haven't folded have bet the same amount of money for the round.

a. First Example Betting Round

There are five players at the table 22:

Player 1 (Button);

Player 2 (Small blind—10 ¢)

Player 3 (Big blind—25 ¢)

Player 4; and

Player 5.

Start of betting round:

-   -   1. Player 4—Calls the big blind (25 ¢)     -   2. Player 5—folds;     -   3. Player 1—Calls the big blind (25 ¢)     -   4. Player 2—Calls the big blind (since they already have 10 ¢         bet, they only have to add another 15 ¢, for a total of 25 ¢)         and     -   5. Player 3—Checks (since they already have the bet matched,         they do not need to add more money to call; this is called         checking).

When Player 2 calls the big blind, all players now have the same amount of money in front of them, but Player 3 (the big blind) has not had a chance to act, so the betting round is not over. Once Player 3 checks, both conditions determining the end of the round are met, and the betting round is over.

b. Second Example Betting Round

There are five players at the table 22:

Player 1 (Button);

Player 2 (Small blind—10 ¢)

Player 3 (Big blind—25 ¢)

-   -   Player 4; and     -   Player 5.

Start of betting round

1. Player 4—Calls the big blind (25 ¢)

2. Player 5—Raises (50 ¢) 3. Player 1—Folds; 4. Player 2—Folds;

5. Player 3—Re-raises (they already have 25 ¢ in as the big blind. They complete the bet of 50 ¢, and add one additional bet for a total of 75 ¢) 6. Player 4—Folds (their previous call of 25 ¢ is now in the pot); and 7. Player 5—Calls (matches the bet of Player 3 for a total of 75 ¢)

In this scenario, all players had had a chance to act when Player 3 made the re-raise. But all players did not have the same amount of money bet. Once Player 4 folds, only Player 3 and Player 5 are left in the pot. When Player 5 calls, both conditions are met, and the betting round ends.

Once the pre-flop betting round ends, and before the flop is dealt, each player still in the hand is given the opportunity to discard up to four cards but must keep at least one of the five cards. The discarded cards are referred to as “discards”, and the cards not discarded are referred to as the “hold cards”. The discards are placed in front of each player facedown.

The dealer will then place the top card in the deck face down on the table 22 (the card placed face down on the table 22 becomes the “burn card”), followed by two cards face up (First Street). The dealing of the First Street cards will be referred to as the “first flop”. Once the First Street cards have been dealt, a first post-flop betting round begins.

The rules of the first post-flop betting round are the same as betting before the flop (pre-flop), with two small exceptions: the first player to act is the next player with a hand to the left of the dealer, and the first player to act can either check or bet as there has been no bet made. Calling is free.

A bet after the first flop (and before the second flop) is the amount of the big blind. In this instance of the example card game 20, a player would put out 25 ¢ to make a bet.

Once the first post-flop betting round (First Street) completes, the dealer deals one card face down followed by two cards face up, also known as the “burn and turn” and referred to herein as the “second flop”. Once the burn & turn for the second flop has been dealt, the third and final (second post-flop) betting round starts (Final Freeway).

The second post-flop (Final Freeway) betting round is identical to the first post-flop (First Street) betting round with one exception: the size of a bet for the second post-flop round (the final betting round) is doubled relative to the first post-flop round of betting. Accordingly, making a bet during the final betting round of the example card game 20 will cost a player double of a bet made during the first pre-flop betting round.

C. Showdown

Once the Final Freeway betting round has been completed, the players now enter into the showdown. At this point, the best hand wins the pot. The rules for the showdown of the example card game 20 are as follows:

-   -   1. The player who bet on Final Freeway is the default first         player to reveal his hand. If any other players choose to show         their hands first, that is OK;     -   2. If no betting happened on Final Freeway (all players         checked), the player closest to the left of the dealer must open         his hand first, continuing clockwise around the table; and     -   3. If a player is holding a losing hand, it is his option to         reveal his cards or simply muck his hand and concede the pot.

In the example card game 20, the player must make the best hand possible using a combination of hold cards and the four community cards on the table. Each player must make his or her best hand using all of the hold cards and, if necessary, one or more of the community cards as necessary to reach five cards.

The following rules may be used to evaluate the winning poker hand:

-   -   1. The poker hand ranking is standard poker (see, e.g., Hoyle's         Rules). There are no exceptions to this ordering: a flush always         beats a straight, and three of a kind always beats two pair;     -   2. Poker hands must be exactly five cards, and only those five         cards are used to evaluate the winning hand. As one example, if         the board is 2         Q         K         A♦, Player 1 holds T         J♦, Player 2 holds T         J♡ Q♦, and Player 3 holds T♦ J         2♡, both players 1 and 2 hold the very same hand (a straight         from ten to ace). This means the pot is split between the two         players. Player 3 loses with a pair of 2s. Again, held cards         must be played;     -   3. Because of the five card limit to standard poker rules,         having three pairs is considered to be only two pairs, with the         highest-valued two pair making the hand;     -   4. If all remaining players have nothing (no pair or anything         stronger), the winning hand is the hand with the highest-valued         single card, meaning:         -   a. A             3♡ 4♦ 6             7             is a better hand than K             Q             J             9             8♦; and         -   b. A             J♡ 9             8♦ 6♡, is a better hand than A♡ J             9♦ 8             2             .     -   5. Suits are never used to evaluate the strength of a hand.

The player with the winning hand receives the pot. If two or more players tie for the highest hand, those two players split the pot.

At that point, the dealer for the previous hand passes the dealer button 70 to his or her left, and the two players to the left of the new dealer put out their small and big blinds, respectively.

D. Auxiliary Rules

The rules associated with raising are as follows:

-   -   1. When there are more than two players still in the hand, only         one bet and three raises can be made in one betting round. Once         the third raise is made, the betting is “capped”. Once betting         is capped, players may only call or fold; and     -   2. A player must either declare his intent to raise verbally         before making any actions, or bring the amount of chips equal to         the total amount of their raise into play at the same time. A         player is not allowed to place chips, return to their stack and         place more chips. This is known as a string bet.

The rules associated with buying chips are as follows:

-   -   1. The minimum number of chips a player is allowed to buy before         their first hand dealt is determined by the house rules         governing the game;     -   2. There is no maximum to the number of chips a player may buy         at any time unless determined by the house rules governing the         game; and     -   3. A player may reload, or add more chips to their stack, at any         time between hands. Once a hand is started, a player may only         use the chips they had in play at the beginning of the hand,         during that hand. Any additional chips will not be “in play”         until the next deal.

II. Second Example Card Game

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawing, depicted therein is a second example card game 120 of the present invention. The second example card game 120 is in many aspects similar to the first example card game 20 but has been modified for a casino setting with a professional, non-playing dealer. The second example card game 120 will be described herein primarily to the extent that the second example card game 120 differs from the first example card game 20 described above.

In the second example card game 120, the players are arranged in a semi-circle around a table 122, and a conventional deck 124 containing fifty-two standard playing cards is provided. FIG. 2 further illustrates that the table 122 is divided into two main sections: a dealer section 130 and a player section 132. In the example depicted in FIG. 2, there may be up to five players, and five table Sections I-V identified by reference characters 132 a, 132 b, 132 c, 132 d, and 132 e, respectively. More or fewer table Sections may be provided, and not all table Sections need be occupied by a player in the second example card game 120. The casino has the option of allowing a player to play more than one hand. If a player plays more than one hand, the player will typically be required to complete the action of the first hand before any action is allowed on the next.

The dealer is arranged at the dealer section 130 facing the players. The five players may be identified as Player 1, Player 2, Player 3, Player 4, and Player 5, respectively, and are arranged at the table Sections I-V 132 a, 132 b, 132 c, 132 d, and 132 e facing the dealer in the dealer section 130. The players (in this example five) players are further schematically represented by the player information summary tables identified by reference characters 140 a, 140 b, 140 c, 140 d, and 140 e, respectively, at the five sections 132 a, 132 b, 132 c, 132 d, and 132 e. For simplicity and clarity, the individual cards of the deck 124 are not depicted in FIG. 2 and thus do not have associated reference characters but may be referred to in the specification, where appropriate, using standard playing card symbols as described above.

Before game play begins, chips are given (sold) to each of the players as is conventional in a casino setting. Again, the denomination(s) of the chips used and quantities of chips given to each player during set up varies and depends on a number of factors and will typically be consistent for a particular table. For the present discussion, it will be assumed that all players have chips in front of them, and the selection of denominations and quantities has been determined as generally discussed above with reference to the first example card game 20. Chips are graphically represented in FIG. 2 by stacks 150 a, 150 b, 150 c, 150 d, and 150 e of individual chips 160, where each stack is associated with one of the up to five players.

In the second example card game 120, the dealer does not change with each hand, and the dealer's actions are limited to the dealing of cards and game management. For example, the dealer will deal the player cards, facilitate the placement of bets, monitor discards, deal the community cards, and identify winners of each hand. Further, the second example card game 120 is what is referred to as a house banked game, and the house pays winning players as described below.

In the second example card game 120, the general objective is to obtain a winning poker hand utilizing the first five cards dealt for what is referred to as a “First 5” wager or to utilize a hand comprising dealt, held (non-discarded) cards and community cards for what is referred to as “Final 5” wager. The player must make a wager on the First 5 wager, the Final 5 wager, or on both the First 5 wager and the Final 5 wager. These bets are independent from one another and do not have to be the same amount. As an option, the player may place a wager on what is referred to as the “Community 4 Bonus” bet, but this bet may not be the only wager made.

To start game play, the dealer solicits bets on the First 5 wager, the Final 5 wager, and the Community 4 bonus bet. The dealer then deals five player cards face down to each player. The dealer next deals four community cards face down at a community card location 170 in the front of the dealer.

If the player made a wager on the FINAL 5, the player may keep all five cards or select up to 4 cards to discard (i.e., discard 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards). The player places all cards he wants to keep face down in a Final 5 Hold Box 180 associated with the betting player. Discarded cards are placed face down on the Discard Box 182 associated with the betting player. Each player must keep at least one of the original five player cards. Players are not to share information about their cards with other players.

To determine the outcome of the First 5 wager, the dealer will reveal all the five original dealt player cards for each player. Winning hands are paid according to a posted “First 5 Pay Table”. An example of a First 5 Pay Table is set forth below. The discarded cards are placed in the dealer's discard rack. Only the highest hand is paid.

Example First 5 Pay Table Hand Payout Royal Flush 250 to 1  Straight Flush 100 to 1  Four of a Kind 50 to 1 Full House 30 to 1 Flush 20 to 1 Straight 10 to 1 Three of a Kind  8 to 1 Two Pair  4 to 1 Jacks or Better Pair  2 to 1

The dealer next reveals all four community cards face up on the table. For each player, the best five card poker hand is identified from the Hold cards and the community cards. All of the non discarded Final 5 Hold cards MUST play. Accordingly, if the player discarded two cards, only two community cards can be used to make the player's best five card hand. Winning hands are paid according to a posted Final 5 Pay Table. Only the highest hand is paid. An example of a Final 5 Pay Table is set forth below and schematically represented on a placard 190 or the like as shown in FIG. 2.

Example Final 5 Pay Table Hand Payout Royal Flush 100 to 1  Straight Flush 30 to 1  Four of a Kind 15 to 1  Full House 3 to 1 Flush 2 to 1 Straight 1 to 1 Three of a Kind 1 to 1 Two Pair Push

The dealer next determines whether the community cards form the hands identified in a posted “Community 4 Pay Table”. An example Community 4 Pay Table is set forth below. If any player made a wager on the Community 4 Bonus bet and the Community Hand is a winning hand, the winning hand is paid.

Example Community 4 Pay Table Hand Payout Four Aces 1000 to 1  Four of a Kind 750 to 1  Royal Flush 500 to 1  Straight Flush 100 to 1  Three Aces 30 to 1 Three of a Kind 20 to 1 Flush 15 to 1 Straight 10 to 1 Two Pairs  5 to 1 Two Aces  4 to 1 Jacks or Better Pair  2 to 1

Because each player is separately playing against the house or dealer, there are no ties in the second example card game 120.

III. Alternate Embodiments

The present invention will perhaps most commonly be implemented with playing cards and will be described herein primarily in the context of a card game. While the example card games 20 and 120 have been described above in the context of players sitting at a physical table 22 or 122 using a deck 24 or 124 of cards, the game rules and play may be automated using one or more computers. One or more computers run a game software program that performs the computations and renders the logic necessary to handle the role of the dealer. In a computerized version of a card game of the present invention, each user or player would typically be provided with a user interface (e.g., display and touch screen). The user interface of a computerized version of the present invention would display to the user representations of cards and allow the user to communicated choices (e.g., bets, holds, folds) to the game software program. The game software program determines what representations of cards to display based on the rules of an example card game of the present invention, a virtual “shuffled deck” (e.g., created based on a random number generator), and inputs entered by the users or players. The present invention may thus be implemented in forms other than a card game such as with dice or in a computer form such as an application for a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone, as a video game, or as a slot machine game.

Additionally, the present invention is described below in the context of rules for a specific example of a game of the present invention. In this context, it should be noted that game rules typically use imperative terms such as “must” to clearly define the boundaries of game play. The use of such imperative terms in defining the rules of the specific example of a game of the present invention should not be interpreted as defining the invention in such imperative terms. In particular, it is possible that the rules of a card game of the present invention may be changed from the rules of the specific example card games 20 and 120 described herein and still fall within the scope of a card game of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of allowing a plurality of players to play a card game, comprising the steps of: setting up the game by providing a plurality of representations of cards, where each representation of a card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten, and the representations of cards are substantially randomly arranged in a shuffled deck; distributing the cards to each of the plurality of players such that each of the plurality of players possesses a hand comprising a plurality of cards; allowing each of the plurality of players to discard up to four cards from each of the plurality of players' hands, where cards not discarded from each of the plurality of players' hands are hold cards; dealing at least one community card; determining a five card poker hand for each of the plurality of the players who have not folded, where the five card poker hands associated with each of the plurality of players contain all of the hold cards of the plurality of players, and if the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands; and identifying at least one of the plurality of players having the highest five card poker hand as a winner of the game.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, in which the step of setting up the game comprises the step of providing each player with chips.
 3. A method as recited in claim 1, in which the step of setting up the game comprises the step of determining the number and type of chips to be distributed to the players.
 4. A method as recited in claim 1, in which the step of setting up the game comprises the step of identifying one of the plurality of players as a dealer.
 5. A method as recited in claim 4, in which the player immediately to the left of the deal puts out a first blind and the player immediately to the left of the player who puts out the first blind puts out a second blind.
 6. A method as recited in claim 1, in which a wager is placed on the player cards dealt to each player.
 7. A method as recited in claim 1, in which a wager is placed on the community cards.
 8. A method as recited in claim 4, in which the step of setting up the game comprises the step of setting values a first blind and a second blind, and the method further comprises the steps of causing at least one of the plurality of players to place the first blind and at least one of the plurality of players to place the second blind.
 9. A method as recited in claim 4, in which a player to the immediate left of the dealer places the first blind and the player immediately to a player to the immediate left of the player who places the first blind places the second blind.
 10. A method as recited in claim 1, in which bets are solicited in a pre-flop betting round, where each of the players has the choice of folding, calling, or raising during the pre-flop betting round.
 11. A method as recited in claim 4, in which raises are based on amounts of the first and second blinds.
 12. A method as recited in claim 10, in which the pre-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money for the pre-flop betting round.
 13. A method as recited in claim 10, in which the pre-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to fold, call, or raise and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money for the pre-flop betting round.
 14. A method as recited in claim 1, in which the step of allowing each of the plurality of players to discard cards comprises the step of allowing each player to discard up to four cards.
 15. A method as recited in claim 1, in which bets are solicited in a first post-flop betting round, where the first post-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money.
 16. A method as recited in claim 15, in which, during the first post-flop betting round: the player who acts first is the next player holding a hand to the left of the dealer; and the player who acts first may either check or bet.
 17. A method as recited in claim 15, in which the second post-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money.
 18. A method as recited in claim 17, in which, during the second post-flop betting round: the player who acts first is the next player holding a hand to the left of the dealer; the player who acts first may either check or bet; and sizes of bets are increased relative to bets in the first post-flop betting round.
 19. A method as recited in claim 1, in which: the step of dealing at least one community card comprises the step of dealing two first flop community cards in a first flop; and the step of dealing at least one community card comprises the step of dealing two second flop community cards in a second flop.
 20. A method as recited in claim 19, in which: the step of dealing at least one community card in the first flop comprises the step of dealing a first burn card face down before the step of dealing the two first flop community cards; and the step of dealing at least one community card in the second flop comprises the step of dealing a second burn card face down before the step of dealing the two second flop community cards.
 21. A method of allowing a plurality of players to play a card game, comprising the steps of: setting up the game by identifying one of the players as a dealer, determining the number and type of chips to be distributed to the players, providing each player with chips, providing a plurality of representations of cards, where each representation of a card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten, and the representations of cards are substantially randomly arranged in a shuffled deck; causing the player immediately to the left of the dealer to put out a first blind; causing the player immediately to the left of the player immediately to the left of the dealer to put out a second blind; distributing the cards to each of the plurality of players such that each of the plurality of players possesses a hand comprising a plurality of cards; allowing each of the plurality of players in a pre-flop betting round to fold, call, or raise; allowing each of the plurality of players to discard cards from each of the plurality of players' hands, where cards not discarded from each of the plurality of players' hands are hold cards; dealing two first flop community cards in a first flop; soliciting bets from the plurality of players in a first post-flop betting round, where the first post-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money; dealing two second flop community card in a second flop; soliciting bets from the plurality of players in a second post-flop betting round, where the second post-flop betting round ends when all players have had a chance to act and all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money; determining a five card poker hand for each of the plurality of the players who have not folded, where the five card poker hands associated with each of the plurality of players contain all of the hold cards of the plurality of players, and if the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands; and identifying at least one of the plurality of players having the highest five card poker hand as a winner of the game.
 22. A card game for a plurality of players, comprising: a plurality of representations of cards, where each representation of a card has a face value selected from the group of face values consisting of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and a plurality of cards sequentially numbered from two to ten, and the representations of cards are substantially randomly arranged in a shuffled deck; whereby the cards are distributed to each of the plurality of players such that each of the plurality of players possesses a hand comprising a plurality of cards; each of the plurality of players is allowed to discard cards from each of the plurality of players' hands, where cards not discarded from each of the plurality of players' hands are hold cards; four community cards are dealt; a five card poker hand is determined for each of the plurality of the players who have not folded, where the five card poker hands associated with each of the plurality of players contain all of the hold cards of the plurality of players, and if the number of hold cards in any of the five card poker hands is less than five, the hold cards for are combined with at least one of the community cards to obtain the five card poker hands; and at least one player having the highest five card poker hand is identified as a winner of the game. 